Ahead of the new season, which is set to get under way on October 17, Maritzburg United chair Farouk Kadodia is worried whether Richard Ofori and Rushine de Reuck will show the same commitment to the team should their move to Gauteng fail to materialise.
Ofori and De Reuck have been heavily linked with a move to Gauteng, with Orlando Pirates one of the teams understood to be keen to sign them.
Kadodia, who revealed yesterday that the league will start on October 17 with the MTN8, said he will try to motivate the players should they fail to secure deals.
“No official offers [are] on the table for either player and we will look to motivate them to continue the season with Maritzburg,” Kadodia said through a virtual conference yesterday.
“I think what is important is to understand that when you do a transfer deal it has to benefit the player and the club, so these things are very sensitive.
“Right now, while we prepare for our first game on October 17, we need to sit down with the players to make sure that their focus is on us.”
Kadodia added that the transfer window period always brings him more stress than happiness as he always loses his best players to big teams. This window, which opens next week, could be no different. .
Last season they lost Siphesihle Ndlovu and Fortune Makaringe to Pirates.
“It is always stressful, there is no doubt about it. In the last two years we lost a lot of valuable players,” Kadodia said. “But we will continue to assemble the squad as best as possible. We owe it to our fans and the brand has to grow. We are happy with the progress of the brand in the last five years.”
Kadodia also gave an update on players whose loans and contracts had ended. “We have extended Keagan Buchanan’s contract by another year. We are still negotiating with Phumlani Ntshangase, whose loan expired and the decision will be made in the next day or so.
“We’ve also made a request to Pirates to extend the loan of Tebogo Tlolane and we are still waiting for their response.”
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